McConnell warns Harry Reid tombstone will say he ruined the Senate

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell warned Harry Reid on Thursday that the Democratic majority leader’s “tombstone” will say he “presided over the end of the Senate” if he “caves to the fringes” and changes Senate rules to make it easier to confirm administration appointees.

“No Majority Leader wants written on his tombstone that he presided over the end of the Senate,” McConnell warned from the Senate floor on Thursday, blasting Reid for suggesting that he will invoke the “nuclear option.”

“Well, if this Majority Leader caves to the fringes and let’s this happen, I’m afraid that’s exactly what they’ll write,” McConnell argued.

The “nuclear option” means Reid would push through new Senate rules where it would only take 51 votes to end a filibuster on administration appointees.

“It is a disturbing trend when Republicans are willing to block executive branch nominees even when they have no objection to the qualifications of the nominee,” Reid said.

McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, said of the nuclear option: “I just hope the Majority Leader thinks about his legacy, the future of his party, and – most importantly – the future of our country before he acts.”

“Senate Democrats are gearing up today to make one of the most consequential changes to the United States Senate in the history of our nation,” he said. “And I guarantee you, it is a decision that, if they actually go through with it, they will live to regret.”